Tom Poppewitz

nate (schmolze who-is-at students.wisc.edu)
Mon, 22 Feb 1999 17:59:48 -0600

This is a small part of a chapter from one of Tom's books that
focuses on constructivism.

Nate

Rethinking Decentralization and the State/Civil Society
Distinctions:
The State as a Problematic of Governing

There is a particular set of epistemological rules around which
the teacher is defined in current reform practices. These rules
often evolve around a label of "constructivism" which draws on
psychology and social-interactional perspectives.
Constructivist strategies are intended to enable teachers to
have the "correct" dispositions and capabilities for effecting
school reform. Knowledge and subjectivities are viewed as
contingent and plural. They can be represented through the
following equation:

"I understand it" + "I can do it" + "I care about it" =
"capacity"

But constructivist pedagogies are not neutral strategies to
teach "problem-solving"; they politicize the body through
connecting power/knowledge. There is a shift from the
individual defined by having particular sets of competencies,
skills and knowledge (such as those for cognitive mastery) to
the individual who embodies pragmatic capabilities and
dispositions. The "capabilities" of the teacher are
"self-confidence, self-discipline, problem-solving, and a
willingness to learn."

If we examine The Holmes Group (1986, 1990), organized by deans
of leading schools of education in the U.S. to produce change in
teacher education, a constructivist psychology is offerred as a
template for improving the quality of teaching in professional
development schools. Constructivism is brought to bear on the
formation of teachers when it is asserted that "the generic task
of education" consists of "teaching students how to make
knowledge and meaning to enact culture . . ." or when it is
argued that it is necessary for institutional networks to
develop multiple models of reform "rather than a template for a
single conception" (Holmes Group, 1990; pp. 6 &10).
In certain crucial ways, the dispositions of the person that
Donzelot identifies are homologous to the constructivism which
we have seen in the Holmes Reports and the National Curriculum
Standards, as well as in the conceptual change literature
associated with constructivist teaching of school subjects.
Individual goals are now tied more closely and directly than
before to institutional and corporate goals.

The individualism of constructivism is homologous to the
changing conceptions of "individuality" that Donzelot describes
and which exist as well in culture practices, philosophy, and
politics. It is a world of instabilities, pluralities, and a
need for pragmatic actions as individuals interact with
communication systems. It is a world of contingent qualities in
contexts that quickly change. The pedagogical changes in how a
teacher "sees", appreciates and acts in the world are related to
other social changes, but not in a correspondence to other
social arenas.

The significance of the strategies of reform in the problem of
governing are in their intrusive qualities. The potential of
constructivist discourses result from their linking people's
knowledge of the world with institutional "goals" in a manner
which enables them to feel satisfied that the process will
effectively reap personal as well as social ends. Inscribed in
the concrete technologies of pedagogy are the dispositions and
capabilities that regulate and "police" the teachers who, in the
discourse of reform literature, is not only "able" but also
"inclined" (see, e.g., Barth, 1986; Cazden, 1986; Newmann et
al., 1989). But the intrusive, regulatory quality is not a
reflexive element of the discourse. The sense of "doing" and
"wanting" are uncritically accepted as a prescription for
action. Thus, when we consider the shift in educational
discourses from the individual defined as having particular sets
of competencies, skills and knowledge (such as those for
cognitive mastery) to the individual who embodies pragmatic
capabilities and dispositions, these changes in the loci of
regulation are related to changes in arenas other than those in
education.

Nate Schmolze
http://www.geocities.com/~nschmolze/
schmolze who-is-at students.wisc.edu

People with great passions, people who accomplish great deeds,
People who possess strong feelings even people with great minds
and a strong personality, rarely come out of good little boys
and girls
L.S. Vygotsky